11/28/11

I frequently follow Lew Rockwell the American libertarian, political commentator, activist, and chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. I previously linked on my blog his radio show podcast and website (LewRockwell.com). Last month, I decided to remove both his radio show and website from my blog. I came to that decision after he did a radio show promoting and endorsing harmful pseudo-scientific medical myths.

From that show's web page:

"Then, there are the harmful elements pushed upon us by the State,which we should not be getting at all, like fluoride which causes brain disorders, vaccines which cause autism and statins which inhibit healthy cells. Dr. Miller keeps close watch on government-enslaved doctors and the lying propaganda of the pill-pushers." [10/26/11 LewRockwell.com]

After looking into what other controversial things Rockwell is into and linked to, I found other non-economics related reasons to distance myself from what could be seen by some as an endorsement of his beliefs. The reason I had his website listed and linked was for another libertarian viewpoint in my blogroll section. Unfortunately he's gone too far that it should concern libertarians as to where libertarianism will go as a movement with the influence Lew Rockwell has.

Things that should raise an eyebrow are what his columnists put on his website with his oversight. Gary North, a regular columnist for the website and a Christian Re-constructionist, has regularly been advancing 9/11 conspiracy theories whenever the 911 topic comes up.

From Gary North:

This was posted on August 30 on one of my GaryNorth.com site's forums regarding the pancake-like collapse of all three World Trade Center buildings on 9-11:

"All three are clearly controlled demos. Everyone that views it knows it."

I cannot imagine a more inaccurate statement. Hardly anyone who views them knows "it." Almost every adult American has seen the videos of the collapse of the North & South towers. On September 11, 2001, the videos were shown over and over on the networks, all day long.Only a handful of experts have ever publicly argued that the cause of the bildings' collapse was a system of controlled demolition. Anyone who dares to mention the pancake collapse of the third tower is rejected derisively as a conspiracy theorist.

[...]

I have faced
this all of my adult life. I started out in 1958 with a high school
term paper on whether Roosevelt knew an attack on Pearl Harbor was
coming. I concluded that he knew an attack somewhere in the Pacific
was coming. I have not changed my mind. In 1972, when I was awarded
my Ph.D. in American history, as far as I knew, I was the only historian
age 30 or younger with a Ph.D. in history who believed this. Even
today, I am one of maybe a dozen men with a Ph.D in American history
who believe this and say so in public. [9/1/11 LewRockwell.com]

Another columnist and truther for the website is Paul Craig Roberts co-founder of Reaganomics.

The 9/11 Truth movement was not created by bloggers ranting on their web sites. It was created by professional architects and engineers some of whom are known for having designed steel high rise buildings. It was created by distinguished scientists, such as University of Copenhagen nano-Chemist Niels Harrit who has 60 scientific papers to his credit and physicist Steven Jones. It was created by US Air Force pilots and commercial airline pilots who are expert at flying airplanes. It was created by firefighters who were in the twin towers and who personally heard and experienced numerous explosions including explosions in the sub-basements. It was created by members of 9/11 families who desire to know how such an improbable event as 9/11 could possibly occur. [9/14/11 LewRockwell.com]

In an investigation of 2012 Presidential candidate Ron Paul's Racist Newsletter controversy by the libertarian Reason Magazine, Reason pointed to Lew Rockwell as the chief ghost writer of Paul's newsletter. Rockwell himself denied responsibility for the newsletters' contents and characterized discussion of the newsletters as "hysterical smears aimed at political enemies" of The New Republic which broke the story. So Lew Rockwell may be the source of Ron Paul's political troubles. That doesn't fare well with me on Rockwell, nor should it for anyone else who supports Ron Paul.

For these reasons, I do not list or recommend Lew Rockwell's website for libertarian viewpoints. I still list and recommend the Ludwig von Mises Institute on libertarian economics which Rockwell is the chairman of. I'd urge Lew Rockwell and the columnists to just stick to economics and limited government. You know?....the whole libertarian thing. I can't recommend him as a columnist or his website if conspiratorial thinking is always pushed.

I myself have not gone into great enough detail into what libertarian economic policies I support and those don't. Many of them I'm deeply opposed to and support the progressive alternative. I'll discuss particular policies in future blog posts.

11/17/11

I'm not going to waste to much time on this, so I'm going to try to keep it short.

Ellen Barkin in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Barkin criticized Fox News for what it is saying:

"The blatant lying that passes itself off as journalism. I don't even need to get there to go mental. Can you imagine a legitimate newsperson -- Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw -- just lying on the news?"

Off course Fox News wouldn't have that, so Bill O'Reilly went on the attack. Of course, he lies while doing it.

He called her criticism a "flat out lie" "I have never mentioned Ellen Barkin on this broadcast - ever. And I would never call her names."

One problem, Ellen Barkin did NOT say Bill O'Reilly said anything about her on his broadcast.

Ellen Barkin Attacks Fox News, Calls Its Correspondents LiarsEllen Barkin lashes out at Fox News in a recent interview, accusing the network of "blatant lying." The outspoken Barkin has a reputation for candor, whether in person or on her Twitter account, and her take on the News Corp. entity is no exception. She tells the Los Angeles Times magazine, "Well, we’re experiencing divisiveness in terms of our politics. Like, the Religious Right has identified themselves because of the propagandizing and illiteracy of...I don’t know...News Corp, maybe? "They have identified themselves with this extremist, right-wing insurgency of a party—this Tea Party. They call it a grassroots movement. Grassroots? You’re attached to the wrong ship. And that just shows you the enormous—and don’t misquote me here!—the enormous success that has killed us in terms of Fox News." Barkin then attacks the channel for lacking journalistic integrity, "The blatant lying that passes itself off as journalism. I don’t even need to get there to go mental. Can you imagine a legitimate newsperson -- Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw -- just lying on the news? Let alone the entertainment factor -- you know, news as entertainment." (Hollywood Reporter)

11/15/11

Sean Hannity actually gave air time to Herman Cain's boss WorldNetDaily (WND) founder Joseph Farah on his Fox News show. They discussed whether the allegations against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain are valid "from a journalistic perspective. Hannity should already know that WorldNetDaily is the "news" website responsible for propagating birtherism and all the "Where's the Birth Certificate?" billboards. These billboards are part of a campaign by WND to keep the issue alive.